Palmyra and the Hill Cumorah

After the yummy continental breakfast, we got going and were on our way to Palmyra, NY. I was most excited and anxious to see these sites, as they were places in church history that I'd heard about for as long I could remember. I know the names "Palmyra, Joseph Smith, and the Sacred Grove" don't mean anything to many people out there, but to me, they are sacred. We even have a hispanic neighbor woman named Palmyra. I asked her if she'd ever heard her name before or if she knew about the significance it had for our church, but she'd never heard. It gave me a little opportunity to talk about the church, but unfortunately didn't go much farther than that. Anyhow, I'd been looking forward to this trip for some time, and I must say it was worth every second of the wait. I loved it so very much!!
Here we are outside of the visitors' center in Palmyra.

A view of the front of the Hill Cumorah

Walking to the top of the Hill Cumorah, towards the Moroni Statue. Nathan's family history has 2 men that actually posed for the statue, so it was fun to see that his physique was akin to theirs.

At the statue created by Knaphus using Hyrum Don Carlos Clark and his brother, Elwin.

The kids were tempted to roll down the Hill, but we thought that would not be such a wise idea. It is pretty steep and long and would create some wounds for sure. I was amazed that they are able to put on a pageant at this Hill every summer with hundreds of people on such a steep mountain. It was sobering to think that the Plates found by Joseph Smith really had been buried in that mountain. There is something comforting and exhilirating about standing on the same place where history has happened, where significant events in our past have etched their way into our history books and lives. This particular place might not be in many of our history books in school, but they sure are reveered in our church ooks. I have often conjured up images about what the Hill and Sacred Grove might look like, but now I can have sure images in my mind and will be able to envision the glorious events that took place there in a real way. I feel very fortunate to have seen the place where Moroni and Joseph Smith have both been before.

Laying on the top of the Hill Cumorah